Hindsight: Zebina Conkey and the delivery of the U.S. mail

Hindsight: Zebina Conkey and the delivery of the U.S. mail

Early mailmen hardly ever knew what they might be called on to deliver.

Hindsight: Zebina Conkey and the delivery of the U.S. mail

Bob Duncan

Earlier this week we were visited at the archives by long-serving Central High School librarian, Linda Brewer Lovett.

She was with us to do some research on family history. As she was pondering through reams of ancient knowledge, she looked up at me, and asked, “Where was Lovettsville?” Giving my brain a shake, I waited for a moment in hopes that an answer might fall out, but I had to say, “Sorry — don’t know.” Linda looked at me in delighted surprise, and exclaimed, “Do you mean that I have stumped you?” This brought on laughter and general amusement. Unfortunately this is happening more and more to me. Now that I am of an age where I could retire (not that I intend to) my brain seems to be ossifying and hardening around the edges. After having been the county historian for nearly 20 years, I find that my memory is slowing, but not to worry, as I still know where to look up answers for questions such as Linda’s.

As it turns out, Lovettsville was in the Bear Creek neighborhood. Its main claim to fame was that, in the 1800s, it had a post office. Now I know a little about country post offices, as my mother, Lila Duncan, was the postmaster at Williamsport for many years. As a kid I observed the methods and rhythms of the mail. Miz Lila, as she was universally known, sorted the daily mail, sold stamps and supplies, and represented the entire federal bureaucracy for the Williamsport area. There was no end of the federal and state forms that she helped people fill out. This was in the day when it was hard to find a Republican in the county. A new stamp came out with President Eisenhower’s picture on it. A local man bought one of the stamps to use on his envelope, but he paused before he licked the stamp. Looking up at mother, he said, “Can I use your sponge to wet this stamp? I really don’t want to lick the back of that man’s head.”

In 1903, there was a great disturbance in the postal force. There were little post offices all over the map. Every place that could be called a place had a post office. This was in the days before rural free delivery, and about all you needed to be a post office was a shelf in your store or place of business on which to keep the incoming mail. People, in the course of business or while running errands would come by to see if they had anything. The postmaster would riffle through his little stack of letters to see if there was anything with your name on it. Postmasters were paid by a portion of the stamps they sold, which was usually a very small amount. Nobody could ever be accused of making a living as a postmaster in the 1800s, and as a result there was little incentive to be diligent in their duties. Post offices came and went with great frequency, which confused mail delivery in the extreme.

One of my favorite funny names in Maury County history was the postmaster at Bigbyville. His name was Zebina Conkey. There were other offices at McMurray’s Store, Cave Spring, Hickory, True, Garland, Snow Creek, Cartersville, Van Horn, Bethel Academy, Poplar Ridge, Union, Rich Hill, Spring Grove and Baird’s Store — all in Maury County, and the location of all of them unknown to us. Every time a store owner died or sold out, his post office would be taken over by someone else, and the name usually changed. This system led to absolute chaos in the delivery of mail, and there were letters that travelled far out of their way trying to find their correct recipient.

But, in 1903, the post master general called a halt to this postal merry-go-round. Thousands upon thousands of these little Podunk post offices were closed down, and consolidated into larger operations in a firm geographical location. Here in Maury County the post offices that we have today come from this action.

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